Tree Farmers And Sellers Expect A Merry Christmas

Connecticut Christmas tree farmers and sellers expect it to be a happy holiday season, possibly even surpassing last year's jump in real-tree sales.

"Every tree on Connecticut farms is going to be sold this year, local trees, and a lot of growers will actually have to buy in from other states to supplement the trees they have," predicted Ron Olsen, owner and operator of Olsen's Christmas Tree Farm in Voluntown.

"I think it's going to be a wonderful year," said Diane Karabin, owner and operator of Karabin Farms in Southington.

Still, it'll have to be an impressive sale season to top last year's turnaround, when tree sales topped $1 billion, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. The group estimated that 30.8 million trees were sold nationally last year, up from a low of 27 million sold in 2010.

The longer Christmas season — Thanksgiving came about a week earlier this year thanks to the calendar — and the continued, if slow, economic recovery are reasons for optimism, growers and sellers say.

Kathy Kogut, of Kogut Hemlock Hill Tree Farm in Somers, said there were at least 50 cars in the parking lot of her Somers Farm within the first hour of the season on Black Friday last week.

"I was shocked," said Kogut, who also is executive director of the Connecticut Christmas Tree Growers Association.

Kogut's farm is one of a dwindling number in Connecticut. The number of Christmas tree farms in Connecticut dropped from 495 in 2002 to 407 in 2007, the most recent figures available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There will be a new survey next month and figures will be available in the spring.

Similarly, the number of acres devoted to growing the trees in Connecticut fell from 4,833 in 2002 to 3,887 in 2007, according to the USDA.

The average Christmas tree grower in the state is in his or her mid-70s, Kogut explained. When the farmers die, their families inherit their land — and have sold it to developers in the past. She hopes that will not be the case with her farm, a sentiment echoed by John Dzen of Dzen Tree Farm Inc. in South Windsor.

The Kogut and Dzen families have second generations interested in farming.

"We're very fortunate that our children are wonderful kids — and very involved," Dzen said.

Connecticut, despite its size, remains one of the leading producers of Christmas trees in New England.

USDA statistics show that in 2007, Connecticut's 3,887 acres in production was topped in New England only by Maine, which had 4,349 acres in production. There were 113,622 trees cut that year in the Nutmeg State, which fell short of only Maine, where 126,908 trees were cut, and Vermont, which had only 3,600 acres in production but cut 168,206 trees.

Some growers predicted that the wet autumn, which produces greener trees, and storm Sandy could help sales.

"It seems to draw families closer, and then the family tradition comes out more," Kogut said.

Residents started coming out from under the cloud of Sandy and the snow of the nor'easter that followed and adding some sunshine to their homes in the form of Douglas firs, blue spruces and Scottish pines as early as the weekend before Thanksgiving, Karabin said. Trees are priced from $30 to $60 each.

Families have been posing in the tree farms for photographs that will be featured on Christmas cards. And college kids have been coming home to help pick out trees that will be thrown on the roofs of cars and lifted into living rooms to be decorated.

"I think the idea of Christmas and bringing the Christmas tree in just makes people happy, particularly if they've had bad things happen, like the weather," Karabin said. "You can't be miserable and unhappy if you have a pretty Christmas tree in the living room. It just brings hope."